GEO NEPTUNE

TRIBAL AFFILIATION: PESKOTOMUHKATI (PASSAMAQUODDY)

I began weaving when I was four years old. My art is heavily inspired by my family and my people. Brown ash is part of our creation story, so it's use in our baskets makes weaving an inherently sacred art, and my ancestors took that seriously.

I come from two basketmaking families, so I love to take inspiration from traditional forms as well as my familiy's signature designs and styles and put my own artistic spin on them. The first basket I made with my grandmother, I decorated the handle with crayons--after waiting for my grandmother to leave me with my basket unsupervised--because I felt like it wasn't "Geo" enough. My grandmother said, "you ruined your basket!" But I thought it looked better that way, and still do. I see it as the beginning of my artistic style, and have been adding my own embellishments to baskets ever since.

I hope that my art can not only bring awareness of Passamaquoddy and Wabanaki history and culture, but also help to raise awareness of two-spirit identities and encourage other two-spirits to be themselves and reclaim their sacred roles within their own communities.